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Select drawing objects tool not working with lines

Anonymous
2019-04-20T08:21:39+00:00

Hi there

I have great difficulty getting the cursor to select a line (inserted as a 'shape'), and it doesn't select them when I use the select drawing objects tool. The select drawing objects tool works with shapes and text boxes, but not lines?

Bertie

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435K Reputation points
    2019-04-21T13:51:55+00:00

    OK, now I see what you mean. I believe this is related to a bug reported earlier... Lines that are perfectly Vertical or perfectly Horizontal aren't selectable at all or can be very difficult to select. Note that the uppermost diagonal line in your example document is selected but the lines which are horizontal are not. Copy the link to this conversation, then while that document is displayed please use the ☺︎ at the right end of the title bar to report this & paste in the link you copied. Make sure to check the box to Include Screen Shot.

    As an interim workaround: Slightly rotate any Vertical or Horizontal lines then rotate them back to their original orientation [don't use Undo].

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-04-21T01:39:35+00:00

    Hi Bob

    The lines are definitely dawn with the shapes tool, and they are not inline with the text.

    I know I can use the Selection Pane - that for me is not always so 'quick' when working with a detailed doc with lots of objects and lines. It's a 2-3 step process and lots of fiddling around working out which line is which. That's why I've always used the SelectDrawingObjects tool to quickly capture them with the cursor, if, say, I need to group them.

    So for some reason, this tool is not capturing lines, as it does for other shapes, and as it always used to in previous versions

    Thanks

    Bertie

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-04-21T12:33:30+00:00

    Hi Qing

    My version is 16.24

    I used 'customize keyboard' to create a keyboard shortcut for the SelectDrawingObjects tool. I think this tool used to be available in one of the the Format menus in earlier versions.

    This then allows you to use cursor to 'drag to create a rectangle enclosing the objects' as it says:

    In the final screenshot you see it has selected shapes, arrows and text box, but not the lines.

    Regards

    Bertie

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-04-20T10:23:41+00:00

    Hi Qing

    Yes I am able to select lines using the selection pane. However I prefer to use the SelectDrawingObjects tool to enclose multiple objects with the cursor, as it is quicker and easier to select specific objects. I have used this in previous versions of Word.

    In the Office 365 version, which I have just installed, this function appears to not include lines in selecting different objects.

    I have done the safe mode restart and same result.

    Regards

    Bertie

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-04-20T09:44:26+00:00

    Hi Bertie,

    Thanks for posting on our forum.

    According to your description, I need to confirm if you refer to the following article to select the line:

    Select a shape or other object

    If so, I have done the test, there is no problem on our side.

    I suggest you try safe mode to check the result:

    How to use a "clean startup" to determine whether background programs are interfering with Office for Mac

    If the issue still exists, I want to collect the following information for further analysis:

    1. The version of Office. (Click Word>select About Word)
    2. Is there any reaction when you select lines?
    3. When did the issue occur? Which operation have you taken before the issue occurred, such as updating Office?

    If this is not your situation, could you please provide the steps about using drawing objects tool to select lines?

    Regards,

    Qing

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